Israeli Forces’ Operation in Jenin – OCHA Flash Update #2 as of 16:30, 4 July 2023

Arabic: العربية

KEY POINTS

• For the second consecutive day, Israeli forces have been carrying out a large-scale air and ground operation in Jenin Refugee Camp and its surroundings, resulting in further casualties, damages and the displacement of thousands, fleeing the area. Displacement significantly increased in the past 12 hours. As of 16:30 on 4 July, more than 500 Palestinian families, comprising more than 3,500 people, are estimated to be internally displaced, either because their homes have been damaged, or destroyed, or due to safety concerns. Internally displaced persons are staying in government buildings, hotels, mosques, churches, in the government hospital and with relatives.
• Large Israeli ground forces have continued raiding homes in the camp and appeared to move from one house to another through holes they drilled in the outer walls.
• As of 22:30 on 4 July, the Palestinian Ministry of Health (MoH) confirmed that since the start of the operation, twelve Palestinians, including five children, were killed in Jenin. Furthermore, at least 143 people have been injured, of whom at least 20 are reportedly in critical condition.
• For the second consecutive day, vehicular and pedestrian entry to the camp is predominantly limited to one entrance where Israeli forces inspect vehicles, including ambulances. Moreover, Israeli forces bulldozed roads leading to the refugee camp, seriously hindering ambulances’ access to those injured within the camp.
• For the second consecutive day, most of the camp is without electricity or water, due to significant damage to infrastructure.
• The Humanitarian Coordinator has expressed concerns about the ongoing airstrikes and ground offensive in the densely populated Jenin Refugee Camp  and the humanitarian consequences.
• International humanitarian actors carried out an inter-agency field mission to Jenin City. Partners visited the Jenin Municipality and the Jenin Governmental Hospital and delivered essential medical supplies.

SITUATION OVERVIEW

On 3 July at about 5:30 pm, windows of Al Amal hospital in Jenin were hit with gunfire and damaged.

On 3 July at about 6:00 pm, the Israeli military stated that its forces had located two pits that contained explosive devices, weapons and military equipment in the underground floor of a mosque.

On 3 July at about 8:30 pm, residents in Jenin Refugee Camp and neighbouring areas started to leave their homes in search of safe shelter, mainly in governmental buildings, residential houses, the government hospital and nearby villages. This has continued during 4 July and, and as of 1:30 pm, people were still leaving the camp.

On 3 July at about 10:00 pm, Palestinians throughout the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, as well as in the Gaza Strip near the Israeli perimeter fence, staged protests against the Israeli operation in Jenin. Some participants threw stones, and Israeli forces shot live ammunition. As a result, four Palestinians were injured. Additionally, a general strike was declared across the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

On 4 July at about 8:00 am, Israeli forces fired teargas canisters at the courtyards of the Jenin Governmental hospital.

On 4 July at about 08:00 am, the Israeli military stated that its forces had located an underground shaft which they say Palestinians used to store explosives devices, and confiscated weaponry.

On 4 July at about 1 pm, a Palestinian man from As Samu’ (Hebron) rammed his vehicle into Israeli pedestrians in Tel Aviv, Israel, before exiting his car and stabbing others. According to Israeli medical sources at least five people were injured, and the perpetrator was shot and killed by an Israeli.

On 4 July at about 4:00 pm, renewed exchanges of fire erupted between Israeli forces and Palestinians in the refugee camp, primarily occurring in the neighbourhoods of Al Damaj, Al Hawashin, and Abdallah Azzam.

HUMANITARIAN OVERVIEW

• The Israeli forces’ operation has resulted in several casualties. According to initial estimates by the Ministry of Health twelve Palestinians have been killed, including five children, and at least 143 Palestinians have been injured.
• As of 16:30 pm on 4 July, more than 500 Palestinian families, comprising about 3,500 people, have been internally displaced, either because their homes have been damaged, or even destroyed, or due to safety concerns.
• UNRWA facilities remained closed in the refugee camp for the second consecutive day. Damage has been reported to an UNRWA clinic located in the refugee camp.
• Movement and access to the refugee camp is highly restricted, making it difficult for humanitarian organizations and Jenin Municipality representatives to assess humanitarian needs and provide aid. The movement restrictions, including the destruction of infrastructure and roads, also hinder safe and timely access of ambulances and medical personnel to the injured.
• For the second consecutive day, Israeli teargas canisters and sound grenades landed in the premises of health facilities in Jenin city.
• Medical cases are being managed at the three main hospitals in Jenin: Khalil Sleiman Hospital, Ibn Sina Hospital, and Al Razi Hospital. Health Cluster partners are reviewing an initial list of urgent supplies shared by the MoH to support the Jenin Hospital. Pre-positioned supplies in Jenin have been released and are being utilized.
• For the second consecutive day, most parts of the camp are without electricity and drinkable water, as the main water pipeline and the electricity grid of the camp were severely damaged. The municipality is not able to access the affected areas to do the required repairs of the damaged infrastructure.
• Shops in the city of Jenin city and in Jenin Refugee Camp are closed, including the three shops in Jenin city that provide e-voucher food assistance. Banks, ATMs and other financial services are not working.
• Protection Cluster members are conducting initial monitoring and documentation of potential violations of international law.

HUMANITARIAN NEEDS

Protection

Priority Needs 

• Provision of remote psycho-social support to those who remained in the refugee camp, requiring a reliable power source and communications.
• Technical partners specialized in mental health and psycho-social support (MHPSS) will assess needs related to psychological harm, particularly to children.
• Stocks of dignity kits are currently depleted in the West Bank, undermining the capacity to respond to gender-based violence (GBV).
• Protection Cluster is coordinating with Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Cluster on addition of items to hygiene kits.
• Displaced groups may be exposed to higher risk of GBV given that many of the displaced families are hosted in buildings which lack privacy.
• People with disabilities who wish to leave the camp require safe passage.
• Should the number of displaced increases, persons with disabilities will remain among the most affected, forced to leave behind their assistive devices and find themselves in a deepened vulnerability, further depending on family members or rescuers.
• The use of explosive weapons in populated areas is likely to pose security risks for people both during and after the operation, should the area become contaminated with unexploded ordnance remnants of war.

Response to Date 

• Protection Cluster members are conducting initial monitoring and documentation of potential violations of international law.
• Legal partners are responding to tracing requests from families by submitting requests to the military for information on detainees’ whereabouts.
• A key technical partner specialized in child protection and mental health and psycho-social support (MHPSS) is continuing to provide support.
• In coordination with UNRWA, displaced families are being provided psychological first aid and other services.
• Some psychological support is being provided remotely.
• Planned response: Specialists are set to provide MHPSS and psychological first aid. After assessing needs and examining any gaps in services, further psychological support will be provided to people and families, as well as in schools, in cooperation with Health and Education Clusters.

Key Constraints and Gaps 

• Movement and access restrictions.
• Concerns over staff safety as the situation is volatile in the hosting communities as well as in the refugee camp.
• Roads and infrastructure damages, including destruction, are affecting access to affected people both physically and remotely.
• Information challenges: lack of accurate information about the number of displaced families and their hosting locations and needs.
• Service cuts and closures/infrastructure damage: lack of continuous means of communication with those affected by the power outage limiting the identification of needs and responses.
• Trauma and psychosocial distress on protection partners’ frontline staff: staff of service providers, especially those who were present during the displacement, feel that they were left alone without support in a risky environment.
• Limited GBV response capacity in Jenin.

Shelter

Priority Needs 

• Provision of cash assistance to displaced families to cover basic needs and rental costs if needed.
• Provision of essential non-food items (NFIs) to displaced families, including special and dignity kits.
• Preparation work on temporary collective centres to ensure adequate availability of services, protection and privacy.

Response to Date 

• Some displaced families were accommodated in four formal locations: 50 families in the Cinema Hotel, 30 families in the Golden Suites Hotel, 12 families in the Noor Guest House, and an unknown number in the Municipality Guest House.
• Many other families were moved to other nearby villages in Birqin, Qabatiya, Aז Zababida, Kafr Dan, Fuqqu’a, and Ti’innik.

Key Constraints and Gaps 

• Tracking IDPs and identifying their needs.
• No access to the camp to assess the scale of shelter damage.

Health

Priority Needs  

• Ensure support to emergency medical teams providing pre-hospital care to the injured, including promoting their safety and ability to access the injured.
• Support to hospitals treating the injured, requiring hospital care to ensure that they have the needed medical supplies, equipment, and human resources to support patients effectively.
• Early access to rehabilitation services for those that have suffered debilitating injuries.
• Mental health and psychosocial support to people who have been traumatized.
• Safe access of people to essential health services.
• Solutions to people’s displacement and repair to damaged WASH infrastructure are needed to sustain public health.

Response to Date 

• Health Cluster partners have released pre-positioned supplies worth about US$150,000 to support MoH in attending the injured.
• Health Cluster partners are procuring additional items locally, as needed by the hospitals.
• MHPSS partners have been providing support to those in need through telephone counselling services.

Key Constraints and Gaps 

• Damage to infrastructure, including to many of the roads, is restricting access for medical teams and ambulances.
• Ambulances with medical teams have been restricted from reaching injured people, with potential negative impact on those patients.
• Access of people to essential health services is restricted.

Food Security

Priority Needs 

• Food is believed to be much needed in the camp, but due to lack of access, the exact magnitude of the need is yet to be assessed.
• Shops and bakeries in the camp and in Jenin city have been closed for the second consecutive day, hindering people’s ability to purchase any needed or missing food items.
• According to initial results of a rapid survey assessing the food availability and accessibility in local shops, shops in areas surrounding Jenin city and the refugee camp have no significant changes in food stocks yet. Twenty-two per cent of surveyed shops contracted by the World Food Programme (WFP) are experiencing a decrease in food supply and 29 per cent of surveyed shops indicated that they would need at least five days to obtain the necessary supplies. However, 12.5 per cent of the participants noted an increase in the price of main food commodities. About 21,000 people, some 6 per cent of the people in Jenin governorate, are classified as people in need regarding food insecurity.
• Host families and local community initiatives currently cover the food needs of IDPs. Needs will most likely increase if their displacement is prolonged or if more people are displaced. For the moment, local initiatives are covering food needs.

Response to Date 

• Many local community initiatives have been launched to collect and send food baskets to Jenin. At the moment, it is difficult to have any precise figure related to the quantity.
• The Food Security Sector is working with partners and local authorities to identify people most in need of food assistance to potentially provide them with emergency cash transfers to buy food. Partners are also identifying additional local supermarkets in and around the Jenin Refugee Camp to be contracted for emergency cash assistance.
• Food Security Sector has pre-positioned essential food in a warehouse in Nablus. These items can be dispatched as needed.
• Food Security Sector partners are in contact with community organizations to monitor the households’ needs and to activate safer modalities for food distribution as needed.

Key Constraints and Gaps

• The delivery of supplies to the camp remains challenging due to restricted access.
• There is no clear information regarding the food needs inside the camp.
• Monitoring calls with WFP beneficiaries in Jenin indicate that people have no access to shops due to movement restrictions and safety concerns.

Education

Priority Needs 

• The four UNRWA schools in the camp and a number of government schools in the surrounding areas may have sustained damage.

Response to Date 

• Nothing to report

Key Constraints and Gaps 

• Lack of access to assess the damage.
• Four UNRWA schools are directly affected inside the camp. No exact damage assessment has yet been conducted.
• Schools are closed for a total of 1,682 pupils.

WASH

Priority Needs 

• Water is not available in most of the camp, due to severe damage to the main water pipeline for the camp, with the Municipality forced to stop most of the water supply to the camp on the afternoon of 3 July. The main sewer collection pipeline was severely damaged, and some internal sewer lines were damaged. Wastewater accumulations were recorded in some neighborhoods in the camp.
• UNRWA sanitation services were stopped in the camp, which resulted in solid waste accumulation in some areas.

Response to Date 

• WASH partners are coordinating with Jenin Municipality and the Governor’s Office to assess the most urgent needs and provide the required WASH response.

Key Constraints and Gaps 

• Staff from the Jenin Municipality are not able to reach the affected water pipelines in the camp and its surroundings.
• UNRWA has suspended sanitation services, including solid waste management, due to the movement restrictions in the area